Submitted by Gregory Alderete. The CH-47 helicopters descended like creatures from a bad science fiction film—massive, noisy, and otherworldly. As they landed, the U.S. Army infantry flowed into their steel bellies, packs bulging, faces streaked with camouflage, and eyes set on the unknowable. I stood apart, an observer—a field advisor assigned to coordinate with a […]
To Ponder
Letter: Oh, What a Morning!
Mary gathered her skirts about as her sandaled-feet became a blur of motion, a red-cloud of Palestinian dust billowing behind as she, with “the other Mary” – a close second – flew down the path from the empty tomb to where the huddled and fearful disciples were gathered a half mile away. Someone called out […]
Letter: The dangerous simplicity of Pete Hegseth
Submitted by Gregory Alderete. In the closing chapters of a declining empire, history warns us to beware of men who mistake valor for strategy, and ideology for wisdom. The appointment of Pete Hegseth—a television personality, former infantry officer, and purveyor of jingoistic platitudes—to the position of Secretary of Defense is not merely reckless. It is […]
Letter: How Lovely to be Home
Entomologist Giorgio Celli called them “the lions of the garden” (lifegate.com) for their voracious habit of eating an estimated 5,000 kind of prey (aphids, scale insects, their eggs, and parasitic pests) during their life cycle. For their ravenous appetite, the lovely little ladybug is the gardeners’ and farmers’ favorite insect. And the favorite flower of […]
Letter: 11 minutes of infamy
Submitted by Greg Alderete. In an era increasingly defined by spectacle and simulation, Blue Origin’s recent all-female spaceflight — a brief, 11-minute sojourn into the stratosphere — has been heralded by some as a triumph of representation and progress. But beneath the polished veneer of diversity optics and branded empowerment lies a troubling display of […]
Letter: The Little Country Church, their Pastors, and Why They Matter
The message was brief but the tears were many. “His heart just gave out.” That’s what he had done from his heart all his life. He gave out. He gave out of a heart that was full, emptied, refilled, and given again. To the people he loved. Out of his heart that overflowed. That was […]
Letter: Stop Spraying Dangerous Herbicides in Our Community
Submitted by Greg Alderete. Once again, the town of Steilacoom has chosen to spray Mirimichi Green Weed Control and Scythe herbicide—chemicals that are marketed as “natural” but are far from harmless. Let’s stop pretending that “green” labeling means these substances are safe. They are not. Mirimichi Green contains ammonium nonanoate, a corrosive substance that can […]
Letter: Standardized Stagnation: How Testing is Killing American Education
Submitted by Gregory Alderete. If you wanted to design a system to crush intellectual curiosity, stifle creativity, and reward mindless conformity, you’d invent standardized testing. And we did. What began as a well-intentioned effort to measure academic progress has metastasized into a rigid, joyless sorting mechanism that punishes nuance, discourages deep thinking, and reduces students […]
Letter: “Children Will Be Released Early”
The message on the elementary school reader board announced that children would be leaving their classrooms and playgrounds sooner than expected so that all could be prepared for the special event to which of course parents and grandparents were invited. Oh, how true. Soon enough, too soon in fact, children will have become young men […]